Exotics plays for Saturday's Oaklawn Stakes

Rebel S. (G2) competitor #2 Stellar Tap (5-2) opened as the morning line favorite in Saturday’s $150,000 Oaklawn S. for three-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles. The winner of Saturday’s race will receive automatic entry into the Preakness S. (G1), if the horse is Triple Crown eligible.

Below we build a couple of exotics plays for Race 8 on Saturday’s card and provide full notes on the seven-horse field.

Oaklawn S. Exotics Plays

• $5 exacta box: 6 with 4 ($10)
  
• $2.50 trifecta: 4,6/4,6/2,3 ($10)

#1 Clancy’s Pistol (8-1): The bay gelding finished fifth in a one-mile allowance, in which race rival Stellar Tap placed second, 2 3/4 lengths behind winner Ruggs. Two back, the son of Lookin At Lucky posted a career-best 86 Brisnet Speed rating in a 1 1/16-mile starter allowance to earn his second career win at Oaklawn and first with trainer Robertino Diodoro, a 21% winner this meet. Clancy’s Pistol has a 4 2-0-1 record this year and a 5-2-0-1 lifetime record at Oaklawn.

#2 Stellar Tap (5-2): The Steve Asmussen trainee failed as the favorite last out in a one-mile allowance after the presser encountered traffic late in the final turn. The son of Tapit has not won a race since a 5 1/4-length triumph at Saratoga in August, six starts back, but will be the one to beat on Saturday with jockey Joel Rosario, who has guided the colt to second- and third-place finishes in a pair of optional claiming races this year. Asmussen is a 25% winner with horses beaten as the favorite in their last race and a 15% winner this meet.

#3 Kuchar (5-1): The son of Uncle Mo hit an 85 BRIS figure, the second-highest last race speed among the field, in a 1 1/16-mile win at Oaklawn on March 13 against maiden special weight company. Trainer Rodolphe Brisset is 29-8-5-5 at Oaklawn this meet and a 22% winner with horses adding blinkers for the first time. The bay colt will move up in class on Saturday and rides for the first time with Florent Geroux, a 67% winner in three races paired up with Brisset.

#4 Home Brew (3-1): The son of Street Sense failed to hit the board for the first time in his career in his most recent outing, a 10th-place finish in the Smarty Jones S., in which he went off as the morning-line favorite among a 13-horse field. The Brad Cox pupil has never raced beyond a mile, but flashed a 94 Late Pace rating two back, in a December win at Oaklawn. Cox is a 27% winner with horses using Lasix for the second time and has gone 3-for-5 at the track in the last 14 days.

#5 Long Crow (12-1): The second horse out of Asmussen’s stable, Long Crow has finished sixth at best when stretching out to 1 1/16 miles and may find Saturday’s distance too much to handle. Isaac Castillo will pick up the mount and has posted a 10-3-0-1 record when paired up with Asmussen in the last 10 days.

#6 The Skipper Too (4-1): The bay will make his first start for trainer John Ortiz, a 21% winner at Oaklawn this meet, with hot jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. in the silks. In his most recent effort, The Skipper Too hit a 99 Late Pace rating to rally to a second-place finish at Oaklawn, where he clocked an 86 BRIS figure, the highest last race speed among the field. The grandson of Distorted Humor breezed through three furlongs in :36 in his latest workout and has placed twice in three starts in 2022.

#7 Happy Boy Rocket (5-1): Blinkers may aid the dark bay in his fifth career start for trainer Bill Mott, but the Runhappy colt lacks speed compared to others in the field. Jockey Martin Garcia is an 11% winner this meet, while Mott has achieved a 2-0-1-1 record at Oaklawn this spring.